Category: Cancer

This summer I am sharing guest blogs from a variety of experts. This week’s blog is the third in a multi-part series about multiple myeloma from my colleague Dr. Margaret Henderson who has a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Colorado. –Dr. Stephen Vogt Welcome to the third installment in a 5-part patient…

This summer I am sharing guest blogs from a variety of experts. This week’s blog is the second in a multi-part series about multiple myeloma from my colleague Dr. Margaret Henderson who has a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Colorado. –Dr. Stephen Vogt Welcome to the second installment in a 5-part patient…

This summer I will be including some guest blogs from a variety of experts, starting with my colleague Dr. Margaret Henderson who has a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Colorado. Dr. Henderson has a lot of experience with multiple myeloma, which she will be sharing in a 5-part patient education series. –Dr….

Millions of American adults already take a daily aspirin to protect their hearts; the research on aspirin and cardiovascular health is clear and beneficial. Over the past two decades, scientific studies have been accumulating about the potential for aspirin – when used regularly – to provide an additional benefit: that of cancer risk reduction. The…

The prostate cancer screening test called PSA, which checks levels of the protein prostate-specific antigen, has a history checkered with controversy. The test can save lives, yet it has been long-known not to be perfect. For starters, there are an uncomfortable number of screening tests that turn out to be false positives, which leads to…

Skin cancer remains the most common type of cancer. Of the several varieties of skin cancer, Merkel cell carcinoma ranks as a more uncommon type, yet it’s aggressive and tends to grow quickly and can be hard to treat once it spreads beyond the skin. Recently, the FDA reviewed a potential new treatment for Merkel…

Carrying around extra pounds presents clear health risks. In addition to the well-known connections between obesity and hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes, excessive weight also increases the risk of at least 11 types of cancer. Cancer is currently a leading cause of death worldwide, yet worryingly the amount of people who are obese has more…

Breast cancer remains the most common cancer in women worldwide, which means that many women will undergo treatment for this disease in their life. The commonly used chemotherapy for treating breast cancer is well-known for the side effect of hair loss. Research shows that cooling the scalp can help reduce the hair loss induced by…

For those with certain types of lung cancer, the oral medication Tagrisso® (osimertinib) shows promise. Tagrisso is a third-generation epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor drug developed by AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals. This medication has been approved for non–small-cell lung cancer, specifically for cancers that have an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation called T790M. Lung…

The medication Imbruvica® (ibrutinib) from AbbVie first gained FDA approval in 2013 for treating mantle cell lymphoma, then in 2014 the approval was expanded to include chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The next year, 2015, Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia was added to the FDA approvals for this medication. Now, in 2017, Imbruvica has been granted an accelerated approval as…

Finding an activity that one can do regularly – whether that’s walking, playing basketball, cycling, or anything else that raises heart rates and moves big muscle groups – brings health benefits in a variety of ways. Lowering the risk of cancer is one such benefit, particularly when it comes to breast and colon cancers (as…

The autoimmune skin disease called psoriasis tends to be associated with other health concerns, including diabetes, heart disease, and depression. Unfortunately, yet another disease is being added to this list: melanoma. Early research investigating the potential link between psoriasis and skin cancer were unclear as to whether the psoriasis or the treatment for psoriasis affected…

Multiple myeloma, a form of cancer affecting the bone marrow, is diagnosed in approximately 30,000 Americans each year. In this disease, malignant plasma cells (which are a type of white blood cell) start growing out of control and can create multiple tumors in the bones. The cancerous plasma cells can also crowd out other cells…

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in American men, following skin cancer. One in every seven men will be diagnosed with this form of cancer in his lifetime; with the average age of diagnosis being age 66. In terms of fatalities, only lung cancer comes with a higher mortality rate. Prostate cancer is…

Ovarian cancer has proven to be a formidable foe. This form of cancer remains difficult to detect, particularly in the early stages, which means that women are generally diagnosed at later (and harder to treat) stages. In fact, more than four out of five women are not diagnosed until this cancer has advanced. For this…

Guest Blog by: Elvin Montanez, Pharm.D. Even more cancer patients might soon be benefiting from the cancer medication that helped former President Jimmy Carter. Keytruda (pembrolizumab) first started saving lives back in 2011 when a human trial led to an expedited process with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). By 2014, this medication was approved…

Cancer treatment and depression go hand-in-hand. In fact, this belief was previously so entrenched in the health care community that it was viewed as an unfortunate, yet unchangeable fact. Today – although depression remains a major challenge for cancer patients – there are now many effective depression treatments available to improve the quality of life…

Guest Blog by: Bridget Economou, RN, OCN Reflecting back on my time attending the 41st ONS (Oncology Nursing Society) Congress in San Antonio, Texas, I was particularly struck by the data in a poster presentation from Kentucky regarding oral adherence. Their conclusions about how a care team can positively impact patient adherence served as great…